– Jemena proposes to deliver significant electricity bill savings to customers over the five-year period beginning 1 July 2026.<\/p>\n
– A typical residential customer\u2019s average annual bill will be $156 lower by the end of the next period compared to an annual bill in 2025-26.<\/p>\n
– Jemena\u2019s proposal is informed by nearly 300 hours of customer engagement over a two-year period.<\/p>\n
– Jemena\u2019s customers provided 16 recommendations which form the basis of the proposal.<\/p>\n
Energy infrastructure company, Jemena, has submitted its 2026-31 Proposal for its electricity network to the Australian Energy Regulator (AER).<\/p>\n
The proposal outlines Jemena\u2019s service delivery and prices for its electricity network \u2013 which services more than 380,000 customers across north-west Melbourne \u2013 for the financial years covering 2026-31, and the role it will play in Australia\u2019s energy transition.<\/p>\n
Jemena\u2019s Executive General Manager of Networks Shaun Reardon said, if endorsed by the Australian Energy Regulator, a typical residential customer\u2019s annual bill will be $156 lower by the end of the next period compared to an annual bill in 2025-26.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis price reduction is enabled by an increase in electricity consumption across our network, driven by data centres and major connections, and increased utilisation by existing customers as they increasingly use electricity to heat their homes and cook their meals,\u201d said Mr Reardon.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo develop this proposal we engaged with thousands of customers across multiple channels which included visitors to our GridTalk website, sessions facilitated in-person including our People\u2019s Panel and virtual engagement. We held 80 engagement events and spent nearly 300 hours with customers over the past two years.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis proposal reflects the needs of our customers and communities today, while also preparing our electricity network for a more sustainable energy future.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany of our customers told us that energy affordability and cost-of-living continue to be their top priority. Our customers also said that maintaining the reliability of the electricity network and increasing resilience to withstand and recover from extreme weather events were important priorities.<\/p>\n
\u201cThroughout our engagement process we sought feedback from a diverse range of residential, large commercial, industrial, small, and medium-sized business customers.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 2026-31 Proposal\u00a0outlines the following actions shaped by our customers:<\/p>\n
Affordability:<\/p>\n
A typical residential customer\u2019s average annual bill will be $156 lower by the end of the next period compared to an annual bill in 2025-26.<\/p>\n
Preparing for the future:<\/p>\n
Connect over 33,300 new residential customers and 2,585 businesses in north-west Melbourne.Introduce new tariff structures that encourage better network utilisation and improve price equity between solar and non-solar customers.Introduce new digital technologies to improve electricity system management and enable new sustainable products and services.Deliver a broad-based zone-substation redevelopment program to maintain current reliability levels.Build large-scale assets to serve new large customers such as data centres and hospitals.<\/p>\n
Keeping our customers informed:<\/p>\n
Upgrade systems to keep customers better informed with near real-time information at times they need it the most.Develop a new portal to provide tailored information based on customer preferences and language needs with energy information.<\/p>\n
The AER will now review and assess Jemena\u2019s 2026-31 Proposal and provide a draft decision later this year. Jemena will then submit a revised proposal with the AER\u2019s final decision taking effect from 1 July 2026.\u00a0<\/p>\n